Spring had teased us for three days with the promise of more sun and warmth. But, this was Monday and it was snowing.

Mockingly it swirled and fell sideways while accumulating in unfair white slush on the brown grass of the Gray House’s side yard in the North End neighborhood of Springfield.

For much of the morning, Oly (pronounced “Ollie”) Almonte pays the potential last gasp of winter no mind. She is too busy listening to Elaine Lampron, a former fourth-grade teacher and a part-time employee at the Gray House, a community center offering services and programs including after-school activities, summer camps, literacy classes, an emergency food pantry and a thrift shop.

Oly has neat penmanship. Her spelling is perfect. She is 32 and a native of Maimon Bonao in the Dominican Republic, a place where it never snows.

She is dressed in a snug, dark wool-and-fleece jacket, a black baseball cap worn backwards, the knitted swift hands of a disc jockey on the front, blue jeans and white sneakers.

She likes the snow. She thinks its pretty – even in late March.

The youngest of eight children arrived in Springfield in October with $50 in her pocket and fewer English words in her vocabulary.

One crucial one: “Opportunity.”

She also had job offer from her friend, Moises Rosario, who was opening Piccolo Ristorante at 304 Worthington St., at the corner of Dwight Street in downtown Springfield.

Her friend Jose Polanco told her about the free English lessons at the Gray House. Every Monday and Wednesday since Oct. 6, Oly has arrived on Sheldon Street ready to learn a second language in a new land, working hard in the class that runs from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

When her lesson is complete, Oly sits with Glenn Yarnell Jr., director of adult education, who, proficient in Spanish, for this interview doubles as interpreter.

Glenn is tall and rangy with a long brown ponytail, hoops in both earlobes and a nose ring. He’s 42, but looks a decade younger.

As she considers the questions I ask, Oly looks out at the snow. She hadn’t seen any before December; now she can’t believe how much she’s seen in a matter of a few months.

She learned quickly how to dress for wind chill factors. But sometimes she misses the heat of her homeland. She also misses her mother. And, her mother misses her.

“I’m the baby,” she says.

Pasta is her favorite American food.

“Home,” she says in English, “rice, beans and chicken. Here, pasta.”

At Piccolo Ristorante, Oly sometimes pinch hits for cook Margarita Jimenz and makes the cheeseburgers and french fries. Mostly she takes food orders and cleans.

Oly doesn’t have a favorite American television program, having little time for the tube. When she does, she watches Univision, the Spanish-language station.

Last month she married Raul Santiago.Because the Dominican Republic is a baseball incubator, I ask if she is a fan of America’s favorite pastime.

She is.

“Alex Rodriquez,” she says, referring to the New York Yankees third baseman of Dominican descent.

Glenn, a Boston Red Sox fan, mock winces. “No,” he says.

“(Derek) Jeter,” Oly responds.

“What about David Ortiz?” Glenn asks.

“David Ortiz,” Oly repeats, shaking her head up and down, smiling.

“Manny (Ramirez, now a Tampa Bay Devil Ray)! But Yankees are favorite team.”

Oly is one of 80 students enrolled in the Gray House’s Community Education Support Program for adult learners, who come from 25 countries, including those as far-flung as Poland, Liberia and Peru. Others are preparing for their GEDs or citizenship exams.

Founded by five Sisters of St. Joseph 27 years ago, the Gray House provides service in one of the commonwealth’s poorest neighborhoods.

Dena Calvanese, the director, says the estimated 10,000 people who last year knocked on the door of the old Victorian on 22 Sheldon St. were helped.

The Gray House’s biggest fund-raiser, an annual spaghetti supper, is set for Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Greek Cultural Center in Springfield. Tickets are $5 and available by calling (413) 734-6696. They also will be sold at the door.

Oly isn’t sure of her work schedule, so she doesn’t know if she can make the event. She’d like to. After all, pasta is her favorite new dish, and the Gray House her favorite new place to set her course for all the opportunity that awaits.